Valkyria Chronicles 2's hero, Avan Hardins

It's been a pretty interesting last few days for Valkyria Chronicles fans. Not only has the sequel to the cult classic PS3 title, Valkyria Chronicles, finally hit North American shelves and the PlayStation Network, but there have been rumours of a Valkyria Chronicles 3 title. The rumours of Valkyria Chronicles 3 started last week when it was discovered that Sega had purchased the domain name valkyria3.jp. These rumours further gained substance when a teaser site was opened up at http://code1935.jp/ which currently features a single image with the silhouettes of character classes and tanks from the franchise and a date, September 16th, which just happens to be the first day of the Tokyo Game Show this year.

Despite all this, the best part has been the release of Valkyria Chronicles 2 for the PSP in North America (European fans get the title this Friday) after the game was originally released nearly 9 months ago in Japan. Although there are some fans of the Valkyria Chronicles franchise who weren't too happy with the decision to release the sequel on the PSP rather than the PS3, I am amongst those who feels that any Valkyria Chronicles is better than none.

There have been some pretty reasonable arguments against the game being on the PSP, such as the art work (primarily the CANVAS graphics engine) and quality of the game would be compromised due to the PSP's hardware, the low sales of the PSP outside of Japan, and the one I hear the most often, that fans do not own a PSP nor do they envision themselves buying one just for one game. This last argument is understandable, besides myself, I don't really think that many people would go out and drop $199 for a handheld device or console just for 1 or 2 games (in my case I bought the X-Box 360 for Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon and Tales of Vesperia). The only problem I have with this last argument is that the PSP is a worthwhile purchase as it has a very strong line-up of not only Japanese-made RPGs (JRPGs), more so than the PS3 or X-Box 360, but other genres as well.

Here are just a few JRPGs and other fun games that people that are available, or will be, on the PSP:

• Valkyria Chronicles 2
• Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker
• Wild Arms XF
• Dissidia: Final Fantasy
• Final Fantasy Crisis Core
• Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
• The 3rd Birthday (Parasite Eve)
• Persona 3 Portable
• Disgaea 1 and 2
• Little Big Planet
• Mod Nation Racers
• Gran Turismo
• God of War: Chains of Olympus
• God of War: Ghosts of Sparta
• Final Fantasy 1 and 2
• Final Fantasy Tactics
• Valkyrie Profile
• Monster Hunter
• Jeanne d'Arc
• Star Ocean 1 and 2
• Tales of Eternia
• Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology
• Valhalla Knights
• White Knight Chronicles (prequel)
• Zettai Hero Project
• Lunar: Silver Star Harmony
• PlayStation 1 Classics (Final Fantasy 7, 8 and 9, Grandia, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3, Silent Hill)

So even if you do invest $199 (or less) for a PSP, you've got quite a lot of games that will keep you busy and playing with that nice portable device. More importantly you will be able to play Valkyria Chronicles 2, which after having played it for a little over an hour has been a pleasant title that I look forward to beating several times over!

Now bear in mind, that these are just early impressions I have of the game and (hopefully) don't reflect the remainder of the game.

Once you start your game and get past the Sega splash screen, right away you are given an introduction of the events going around in the game, not too detailed or anything, which is a nice touch, but after the first time playing it, it gets annoying that it keeps appearing even after you have already started a game; at the very least you can bypass it by pressing the start button. Now once past all this jazz, you're finally at a familiar menu screen from which you can start a new game, load a saved game, change options, access extra features and install the game to your memory stick.

Now, the extras feature is pretty straight forward, it's where you go to enter in passwords to access secret in-game content (such as secret characters) and to view downloaded content. As for the install feature, I am not entirely sure what itl does besides perhaps providing a performance boost and reducing the amount of the time the game will access the UMD. Although I knew ahead of time that the game was only going to feature an English audio option, when I had heard there was an install feature, I half expected that the install included some form of audio, sort of like how Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker requires you to install the game to your memory stick to be able to have English audio dialogue within the game.

Speaking of the audio, so far, I just am in the second battle of the game, it's fairly okay. The only disappointment is that there are parts where there isn't full audio dialogue. For instance, there is a part where the main character, Avan Hardins, is talking to a classmate and you'll read his dialogue but only hear him say something like "Yippie". On the bright side there are still parts where there is actual audio during a dialogue, but I do wonder if this was present in the Japanese version of the game?

The other odd thing is that from the looks of it, you cannot select a save slot in Valkyria Chronicles 2 like you did in Valkyria Chronicles 1 or in any other JRPG for the PSP nor can you save during a battle. When I first selected a slot to save in, I was given what looked to be 4 save slots to choose from. Since I saved my game the first time, when I go to save the game before or after a battle I am only asked if I want to save and not where. I really hope this is only because I am so early in the game and not the actual way it was designed, cause the option to have multiple save slots and save during a battle, was something I took advantage of in the first Valkyria Chronicles game.

I am still quite early in the game so I am hoping that the save slot issue works out and that there aren't other weird things that pop out while I am playing it. I do got to say that so far the game is pretty fun, the music as always is great and the artwork is phenomenal, despite it being on the PSP.

Credit/Source(s): AndriaSang - Gaming News from Japan

Wait a second, hold it, what's this? An Ace Attorney game released on something other than Nintendo? Yup, the Ace Attorney series, with its cast of zany characters, loud outbursts of “Objection!”, finger wagging, and its outrageous flair for dramatic character reactions is hitting the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

Phoenix Wright, thrusted index finger and all

Although Phoenix Wright is making his debut on the iPhone, gamers have followed his exploits before on the Nintendo DS and Gameboy Advance. The experience on the iPhone doesn’t differ all that much from what you've experienced before, except for a few additional, minor features that cater to the iPhone's unique hardware.

Just like the DS version, you are presented with a point-and-click interface as you, in the role of Phoenix Wright, a fresh out of college defense attorney, investigate crime scenes, examine evidence, question people and present your case in court.

Phoenix Wright, feeling a little nervous in his first case

As a new defense attorney you might find the courtroom a bit daunting at first, but no worries, as the first case acts as a tutorial easing you into the gameplay mechanics, such as how to examine your court record for evidence and press witnesses to uncover the truth.

Cross-examinations, an old fashioned throw down between defense attorneys and prosecutors

The following case introduces other gameplay mechanics, such as traveling between and examining crime scenes.

Fans of the Ace Attorney series have nothing to fear about any changes made, as the structure and story remain unchanged. You are still tasked with proving the innocence of five different clients accused of murder. So you still have to prove that your friend is innocent, the sister of your mentor didn't do, that the big, hulking actor wouldn't hurt a fly, that your lifelong rival is really a good guy and that even in dire situations, your client is still innocent!

Miles Edgeworth, the rival prosecutor

Now for a little background on the original Ace Attorney game, released on the Gameboy Advance (GBA) way back in 2001 in Japan-only as Gyakuten Saiban (Turnabout Trial). Originally the game consisted of four cases, which concluded with a case where you had to prove the innocence of your rival, prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.

The game was later re-made for the Nintendo DS with slightly upgraded graphics and new gameplay features. For instance, on the GBA there was only one screen in which to display the actions and events of the game, your evidence, character profile, and controls; the DS, with its dual screens, was able to separate the in-game actions, controls and information between the two screens.

The re-make also made use of the DS' microphone to allow players to interact more closely with the game by shouting "Objection" or "Take that" into the microphone.

Not only were new features added, but a new case was thrown in, "Rise from the Ashes", that introduced forensic investigation techniques, such as dusting for fingerprints, and viewing evidence in 3D on the screen.

Additional forensic investigation techniques are added to Case 5, Rise from the Ashes

The weird touch screen interface for the iPhone version of Ace Attorney

Although, both the Nintendo DS and the iPhone feature a similarly-sized touchscreen the way in which they were utilized differ. On the DS you can choose to navigate the different menu options either by using the directional pad or by using the stylus on the touchscreen display, whereas with the iPhone you can only use your finger, which acts as the stylus, to navigate the different menu options.

Unlike the DS, where you are presented with a list of actions to choose from, such as Examine or Move, on the iPhone you are present with icons to represent actions. For instance, when you are investigating crime scenes you have two icons, an icon in the upper left showing a notepad and another in the centre of Phoenix Wright holding a magnifying glass.

The icons seem to represent their actions accurately, however the weird thing is that you press down on either of these icons and then drag your finger down or across the icon so that you can access other features; such as accessing the Court Record or moving to a different location.

I find that this control scheme isn't natural and seems confusing at first since there are no hints as to how to use the different icons.

It really puzzles me as to why the menu-driven nature of the DS version of the game wasn’t retained for the iPhone port, especially considering that both devices’ total screen size is nearly the same.

Viewing your evidence in the Court Record

Even though the game does make use of the iPhone's touchscreen interface, there is a bit of flair missing in the game due to exclusion of microphone capabilities, which I believe is due to the lack of the microphone on the first generation iPod Touch.

Almost in spite of the gimmicky, albeit fun, nature of using the microphone to shout out “Objection!”, the developers decided to replace it with a gimmick that feels very tacked on. The feature I am talking about is the accelerometer, a piece of hardware in the iPhone that detects the orientation of the device. In Ace Attorney, the accelerometer is used to navigate through your Court Record by tilting the iPhone to the left or right. Thankfully this is a feature that is turned off by default.

Now I realize that this game is at best a port of the DS version, yet I can’t help but be a little disappointed with the final result. When I first heard the news that this game was being developed for the iPhone I had hopes that the developers might try to add something new, such as adding a new case or even adding some unique feature that caters to the iPhone’s hardware.

Considering the storage space on the iPhone, which is considerably higher than that on Nintendo DS game cards, I was really surprised that the developers didn't at least try to expand the story by maybe adding new content, such as new scenes during the original cases or even introducing cases where the crime wasn’t just murder. I truly think that the developers missed out on a golden opportunity to refresh the original Ace Attorney game a little here.

The control scheme and use of the display space on the iPhone’s screen in the final version of this game wasn’t what I expected either. I had envisioned that the screen would display the events of the game with a small, un-intrusive menu present that could perhaps be accessed by making use of different finger swipes. Instead we got the weird tap-and-slide controls and are forced to play the game in portrait mode (where the iPhone is held vertically).

Now, I might be nitpicking a little now on the drawbacks of Ace Attorney on the iPhone, but there is noticeable lag at times during the game when you present evidence to the judge and even some issues with precision when examining evidence. I am not sure if the lag is just a bug, poor programming or something else, but I noticed it right away.

I had hoped that this might have been fixed in an update, however we have yet to receive an update in the North American App Store despite the presence of an update to the game on the Japanese App Store. If the update does fix the lag, I am at a loss as to why Capcom hasn’t released after the game has been out for nearly 3 months.

Original artwork for Case 3, Turnabout Samurai

The artwork for Case 3 on the iPhone

Besides these hardware-related changes, there was one change that didn't really fit, the artwork that is displayed for each case.

In the DS version, when selecting which case to play you’re presented with a beautiful case-related piece of artwork. For example, the third case, which revolves around a murder that takes place during the production of a TV show, the corresponding artwork features an epic clash between the hero and villain with the other characters involved in the case appearing above and below this image. This artwork sort of reminds me of the original Star Wars movie poster which focused on the primary characters of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia while the supporting characters, the main villain, space and spacecraft are relegated to the background. In the iPhone version you still see a piece of artwork, but it's from in-game footage and is covered with text that has the potential to spoil the case, and game, before you even start.

Despite these minor detractions in this version of Ace Attorney, the basic gameplay, funny and interesting characters with their wild reactions and the story make up for them in the long run. For those who are fans and for those who haven't played the Ace Attorney games before, they're worth playing, especially considering the low price of $4.99 and how readably available this version of the game is over the Nintendo DS one these days.

Pros

• Fun and easy to play
• Enjoyable story and characters
• Low price and availability (in comparison to the Nintendo DS version)
• Medium difficulty

Cons

• Confusing controls
• Poor use of iPhone/iPod Touch screen
• Gimmicky use of the iPhone accelerometer

Axis of Bozz Rating: 73

Miles Edgeworth is not pleased to know he's not animated... yet

It has always struck me as a little odd that Capcom hasn't capitalized on the popularity of their Ace Attorney franchise as they should have. For a series that has sold just shy under 3 million copies across 5 games for the Nintendo DS (2.96 million) around the world it's really surprising that Capcom, known for having a plethora of Street Fighter animated works produced, hasn't gone down the obvious route and hired an animation studio, such as Studio 4°C which produced the Street Fighter IV: Ties that Bind short film, to animate an Ace Attorney series. There is easily enough material, from the 5 games, to create at least a 26 episode series and even more should they decide to create new cases and content, such as the stories covered in the official Ace Attorney comic, yet Capcom hasn't made the most of this opportunity.

It just strikes me as odd when a title such as Valkyria Chronicles (not to knock it, as I think of it as a brilliant game which had an equally brilliant animated series) which sold less than the remake of the first Ace Attorney title (for the DS) has been animated. Is it just that Sega has more confidence in their properties? I don't know how true this is as Capcom has produced a few comic adaptations of the Ace Attorney series, such as one based off the most recent Ace Attorney: Investigations game and even a comic with short stories in the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Official Casebook volumes, and oddly enough Capcom licensed the property for a Musical that was performed by the all-female Takarazuka Revue troupe.

There is also fan demand for an animated series as last fall the Dengeki website (publisher of various comic serializations in Japan) polled fans on what video game franchises they would like to see animated; Ace Attorney ended up second right behind Persona 4. So the demand is there, so what is the holdup?

Since last year's release of Ace Attorney: Investigations there hasn't been much in the way of new content being released for the Ace Attorney franchise besides the upcoming iPhone port of the remake of the original Ace Attorney game for the Nintendo DS, although Shu Takumi, the creator of Ace Attorney and voice behind Phoenix Wright in the original Japanese version of the franchise, is working on another unique Nintendo DS gaming experience, Ghost Trick. This lull in new material for Ace Attorney is the perfect opportunity to announce an animated series. Come on Capcom, do it, make an animated Ace Attorney!

Below, an example of how an animated Ace Attorney would be awesome (it's a promotional clip for the Tokyo Game Show and the remake of the original Ace Attorney game):

Sources: Dengeki (日本語), AndriaSang - Gaming News from Japan, VGChartz, Kotaku, Anime News Network, IGN

Valkyria Chronicles fans can breathe a sigh of relief that Sega has finally confirmed an actual release date for the game. The August 31st was one of the release dates being speculated online and had appeared on GameStop's American website back in April. Prior to the August 31st date being posted, the game had initially been expected to be released in June, according to GameStop, and there had been rumours, for months, that the game would be released in May, June, August or September. I am a little skeptical as to whether this release date is true as none of the websites that have "confirmed" the date list any sources of the date, nor has Sega posted anything on their North American blog, Twitter or the Valkyria Chronicles 2 website to indicate that this is the actual release date. I have tried to contact Sega in hopes of them confirming the date, however, until then, I'll take this confirmed date with a little more than a grain of salt, for now you can enjoy some screenshots below:

I hope this typo got fixed in the final version of the game, hopefully.

Sources: Hooked Gamers

As a fan of the Captain America comic book series I really am in awe at how realistic and aesthetically pleasing the outfit is. Although the design of the suit mirrors the one popularized by the Ultimate series (a Marvel imprint which re-imagines and updates several Marvel comic superheroes, such as Spiderman and Captain America) rather than the original version (which was introduced by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in the original Captain America comic in the 1940s), it doesn't come across as being vastly different from the general design of the original. My only complaint, although it is very superficial and very minor, is that the suit lacks the small wings, one each side of Captain America's cowl, that was present in the original Captain America outfit but removed for the Ultimate version and thusly, also removed for the movie version. I am still, exceptionally glad that the staff working on Captain America: The First Avenger didn't decide to totally re-imagine the outfit and perhaps have Cap wearing an outfit that consist of army fatigues, though, it's not a stretch to think that Captain America's uniform, with its bright blue, red and white is not exactly the best collection of colours to wear if you are trying to sneak up on your foes.

Sources: Ain't it Cool News, 411 Mania

If you have been following this blog over the past few months you will know that one of the upcoming Wii titles I am really looking forward to is Mistwalker's new RPG title, The Last Story. Over the course of the past few months we have heard details about the game such as the importance of sound, the presence of airships, different classes in society, and much more; yet we haven't heard of a concrete date rather than an ambiguous 2010 release of the game in Japan.

In his most recent blog posts, dated May 15th and May 31st, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the famed creator of the Final Fantasy franchise and the founder of Mistwalker, mentions that the development on the game was reaching its climax and how the game is taking a lot longer than expected as he has been concerned with adjusting the game's system and fine tuning it for release. It seems that development of the game has even expanded to his own personal free time on the weekends, as he finds himself loading up the latest build of The Last Story. What is truly interesting about Mr. Sakaguchi's experience working on The Last Story is that rather than sticking with what has worked in the past he has decided to break new ground with a different battle system and style to this game. This is quite impressive and I am looking forward to what the end result will be when it finally is released.

Sources/Credits: Mistwalker - Hironobu Sakaguchi's Blog (日本語, English), The Last Story official website (日本語)

Steve Jobs, the Apple CEO and co-founder, kicking back at the D: All Things Digital Conference

Last night, at the eighth annual D: All Things Digital, hosted by The Wall Street Journal, Steve Jobs came out to be interview by the renowned journalist, Walt Mossberg, of The Wall Street Journal, and another colleague, Kara Swisher, a technologist for the Wall Street Journal. The interview last just slightly over an hour and a half and had Steve Jobs fielding questions regarding the on-going saga over the lost iPhone prototype which was sold to Gizmodo, Apple's stance on Flash and the on-going "feud" Adobe has perpetuated against Apple, Google, the App Store and about the future and present of Apple's latest gadget, the iPad.

Although there wasn't a streaming audio or video feed from the event, the interview did have individuals in attendance who work for major technology websites, such as Engadget, which provided the most up-to-minute account of the event. The only downside to Engadget's account was that it was, for the most part, entirely text-based with images form the interview peppered through out the stream. However, since the completion of the interview, a short, edited video highlighting some of the key portions of the interview were posted to the D: All Things Digital Conference website and included below:

The interview, in itself, was fairly informative and as always it's always entertaining to see Steve Jobs speak so lively and vividly about Apple and their products.

Credit/Sources: Engadget, D: All Things Digital Conference, The Apple Core @ ZDNet